Give me something to read

in Random Crap

I’m working on my next book and when I get stuck I read something brilliant to inspire me, so today I’m asking you to share your favorite book ever in the comments.  The one that you read over and over and feel so jealous of other people when they say that they haven’t read it yet.

I have a lot, but my go-to book is Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales.

And possibly that’s cheating because it’s a bunch of his books sqwooshed together but I don’t care because it’s fantastic.

Your turn.  What’s the one book you always go back to over and over?

PS. Apparently today is #bookloversday, which is nice, but isn’t every day book lovers day for people who love books?  It’s like having #oxygenappreciationday or #nationalthankgodwearenotonfireday.  Maybe it’s just me.

1,049 thoughts on “Give me something to read”

Read comments below or add one.

  1. ray bradbury – dandelion wine. technically its a y/a book, but i love it so hard.

  5. Carry on by Rainbow Rowell. LOVE THIS. It’s like Harry Potter fan fiction with magic kids learning at a wizard school…but with swearing and vampires and an interesting love twist.

  6. It’s a tie between Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Those are two books I read once a year.

  7. It’s YA nonsense, but Crown Duel (which was originally two books, Crown Duel and Court Duel) by Sherwood Smith. I read it when I was a preteen and still keep extra copies at my house to give away.

  8. Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon.
    The Monkey Queen Series by Robert Dahlen.
    In Fury Born by David Weber.
    A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones.

  9. Have you read No One Belongs Here More than You, by Miranda July? Probably.

  10. I just finished “Lincoln In The Bardo” and really enjoyed it. It is strange and sad and sentimental all at the same time.

  12. The Watchers by Dean Koontz and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey are the most reread books in my collection.

  13. I love Pillars of the Earth! I have bought it over and over because I lend it out to people constantly and don’t always get it back. 🙂

  14. I have about 100 books that I read over and over but try anything by Laurie Colwin — start with Happy All the Time. And I convinced my new book club of women over the age of 85 (I’m 40) to read Funny Girl by Nick Hornby. You’ll love it

  15. Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights and a new favorite I recently read was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstren.

  16. I love memoirs, and one of my go tos is “A Girl Named Zippy” by Haven Kimmel.

  17. Lamb, House of God, Cocktails for Survival (my daughter being one of the authors has NOTHING to do with this recommendation) ,

  18. Outlander series. The Night Circus. Margaret Atwood anything. All John Irving. ❤️❤️

  19. Love Northanger Abbey (Austen’s snarkiest book), re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series, and sharing the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series with my kiddos (or at least that is my excuse).

  20. Anything written by Terry Pratchett is good, but I’ve read Small Gods at least four times.

  21. While it’s always hard to pick just one, ‘100 Years of Solitude’ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is at the forefront of my mind. So beautiful, so magical, and so wonderful to read over and over.

  22. Vision Quest by Terry Davis is a book I can read over and over. One of the best coming of age stories ever. Puts Holden Caulfield to shame.

  23. I totally LOVE the book Vampire Junction by S.P. Somtow. It’s the first in a trilogy and all of them are fantastic. Basic premise of the first book is vampire needs a therapist.

  25. Favorite book ever is Pride and Prejudice, and whenever I need to lose myself and refocus my brain, that’s what I read! Might not be the same for others, but….favorite book.

  30. The one that leaps to mind is the one I just forced my son to read: Lamb, by Christopher Moore. See also any of his stuff, because hilarious. Oh, and I will also never not read Good Omens.

    Disclaimer: I’m only singling out those two because they’re nearest my desk right now. Otherwise I don’t choose favorites among the children 😉

  32. Full Circle by Michael Palin. Yes, it’s the companion book to a TV show from over 20 years ago, but I don’t care; he’s a great writer and I love his adventures.

  33. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. My great aunt calls it my soul pacifier. (Which sounds a lot cuter in German: Seelenschnuller)

  36. Eternal Pleasure by Nina Bangs. Dinosaur shapeshifter romance with vampires, werewolves, demons, etc.

    I only read classy literature. 😉

  38. Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey, The Abandoned by Paul Gallico, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and many, many, many more!
    And YES! Every day is booklovers day!!

  39. My true go-to is The Collected Poems of Dorothy Parker. Because you can’t get much better.

  43. The Other Einstein and Working For Bigfoot were the best of what I’ve read as of late.

  46. Maybe not my favorite ever but I just finished The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and it was excellent. None of the seven copies that my library had were checked out which makes me think that not enough people are reading this book even though they should be.

  48. Most recently it’s the completely bonkers and easy to read book The Hike by Drew Magary. But whenever I’m down in life I always fall back on Middle Earth or Hogwarts to bring me back to life.

  50. The Heavenly Horse From the Outermost West by Mary Stanton. It sounds ridiculous but it’s a little like Watership Down, but with horses. Totally gets into religion and social structures, I obsess over that book.

    Also recently read “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo and I immediately want to start it over again.

  51. Wow, I have so many books that I love. I love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery (those 2 I have read over and over) I also love Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. I know you just asked for one…but hey, the more the merrier right? lol. <3

  52. Watership Down, Richard Adams. (From childhood on)

    As an adult, Middlemarch by George Eliot. Brilliantly scathing, psychologically rich.

  53. Never Let Me Go, by Ishiguro, is perfect for its sadness and sweetness. If it’s feeling too challenging, then I reread the Anne of Green Gables series or The Goblin Emperor for the umpteenth time.

  54. Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson
    recently, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
    Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    a real thought provoker, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

  61. The only book that I’ve ever read over and over and over was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by, Roald Dahl. I’d read it again today if I had a copy. The only other book I’ve ever wanted to read over and over and over, but haven’t is How to Be a Woman by, Caitlin Moran. I might just do that now. That is a spectacular book.

  62. Most of mine you’ll have already read. Dandelion wine I read every summer. Hitchhiker’s guide when I’m blue. Madeleine L’Engle Troubling a Star, and Certain Women. Anything by E. Nesbit.

  65. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I loved it just as much the second time.

  66. 1.The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
    2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

  68. A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. The Christmas Pageant scene has me peeing my pants in laughter EVERY SINGLE TIME, even though I know what’s coming. Then there are other parts that have me weeping. It’s hysterically funny, deeply moving, and thought provoking. I keep going back to it again and again. Excuse me, I have to go to my bookshelf now….

  69. I have probably read Hogfather by Terry Pratchett at least a dozen times, but that is a Christmas book. The book that most shaped my life and attitudes and which I’ve read many times is Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins.

  70. “Dangerous Angels” by Francesca Lia Block. It’s a collection of the “Weetzie Bat Books” that tells the story of Weetzie and her friends in a semi-magical Los Angeles. I read it at least once a year. It helped me through some rough times and it’s by far my favorite book of all time.

  71. A quick easy favorite is Richard Bach’s “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah” Also anything by John Varley (good starting points are “The Persistence of Vision” or “The John Varley Reader”, both collections of short stories). Also Nevil Shute stories: “Round the Bend” is probably my favorite. Or if you’re feeling revolutionary (and who isn’t these days?), Robert Heinlein’s “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.”

  74. I’m on my fourth or fifth reread of Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – it’d probably be six or seven but I accidently got the book coated in poison sumac, so it’s required to be very careful when reading it.

    More useful to you (if you like SF) might be the Lois McMaster Bujold books about Barrayar; with (storywise) the first two books being Shards of Honor and Barrayar. Humor, honor, gender, laughter and thoughtfulness all wrapped in a neat set of stories.

  75. The Stand or the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben Winters. I’m sure there are more…

  77. Also, while not my #1 favorite, I think you would garner inspiration from Expecting Sunshine. I went to the book reading and launch a few months ago and the story and writer blew me away.

  78. This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl
    Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
    The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

  80. Stiff by Mary Roach
    It’s really funny, morbid, respectful, and poignant. Once I read it I mentioned that every kid should have to read it in HS Biology. My daughters chose to and I am so glad they did.

  83. Gabaldon’s Outlander series (the core group, not the spin-offs). Multiple, HUGE books…like a month-long vacation.

  86. Just one? Ahhhh…….
    Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. The omnibus. That’s four. Just get the entire DNA collection, so that it includes Dirk Gently.
    It’s sci-fi, bizzaro and mystery in one.

  88. The Art of Racing in the Rain. You will sob and sob, but stay with it. So worth it.

  91. Ooo, also Madeleine L”engle, The Other Side of the Sun. It’s dark and beautiful.

  92. All the Light We Cannot See. I’d had it on my list for a while and I finally read it a couple of weeks ago. I feel like I’ll never read anything as well written again in my life. It was beyond magnificent.

  96. “The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World” by AJ Jacobs makes me laugh out loud AND teaches me things.

  97. Isabel’s Bed by Eleanor Lipman – and in case you’re wondering…I’ve cast the movie:)

  100. I absolutely love Anne McCaffrey, in particularly Crystal Singer & Killashandra

  101. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Of course, anything by Sir Terry will be wise, intelligent, and funny, but this first in the Tiffany Aching series holds a special place in my affections.

  103. Oh, hands down it’s East of Eden. It still gives me the feels every time I read it – and I’ve found it a great go-to when I’m feeling down as well.

  106. There are so many books I’ve read so many times over. I’m a nut that way, I just like to read the same book again and again lol! Anne of Green Gables, Gone with the Wind, but honestly my favourite(s) I think for the past 10 years (although I started reading the series when the first book when it came out over 20 years ago) is the Diana Gabaldon “Outlander” books. Read them all many times over, have all the hard covers. Nothing better for me than a strong female lead character :-), history, love story, sassiness, great sex (rofl!) etc. etc.

  107. The Great Gatsby. I keep an audiobook copy with my music, and will just hit play sometimes to hear bits when I don’t have the book within reach.

  108. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
    The Dangerous Animals Club by Stephen Tobolowsky
    almost anything by Bill Bryson
    Fish Whistle by Daniel Pinkwater
    Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

  109. I haven’t read this one yet so maybe it doesn’t count BUT it looks fabulous and sad and wonderful and all kinds of stuff. It’s called January First by Michael Schofield.

  111. Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Really anything by David Sedaris. Also, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende and The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood.

  114. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
    State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
    Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

  115. Queen of the Desert by Georgina Howell – a bio of Gertrude Bell, the most incredible woman I’ve ever heard of.

    But my go-to for comfort reading is Mariana by Monica Dickens. It’s not wildly literary but it’s lovely. Bits make me cry and the protagonist is one of realest women in literature.

  118. The Stand, by Stephen King.
    The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

  120. Other than reading and re-reading Gone with the Wind many times as a teen, I rarely re-read anything, but the three books I have re-read (once each) are:
    The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
    A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
    The Red Tent, Anita Diamont

  121. The time travelers wife by Audrey niffeniger. I’ve ready it probably 12 times and I cry every time.

  124. Since Good Omens has already been recommended several times, I’ll go with The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

  125. Steven King’s The Stand. I’ve worn 3 paperback copies to the point of pages falling out, and now have it on the Nook app. Also James Michner’s Hawaii, Texas, Colorado, and Alaska novels are magnificent.

  126. Winters Tale by Mark Helprin – first read it waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy before the movie of the same name came out

  127. Recently I’ve been recommending to everyone (and definitely am jealous of anyone who gets to read these for the first time):

    Rachel Caine’s Ink and Bone series (An action series about books and scholars!!)
    Emily Arsenault’s The Broken Teaglass (A mystery at a dictionary office!)
    Sylvain Nuevel’s Sleeping Giants (Written in an absolutely refreshing format and a great sci-fi story!)
    Annie Barrows’ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society AND The Truth According to Us
    Margaret Atwood’s Stone Mattress short story collection

  128. J.D.Robb In Death Series. There are over 40 of these books so it will take a while to get thru them

  129. Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway is my current favourite contemporary.

    I re-read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at least once a year and have the most worn-out, tattered copy that I love beyond measure.

  130. “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, or “The Dogs of Babel” by Carolyn Parkhurst- read this one after a breakup and, as maudlin as it sounds, loved being steeped in my own sadness while drinking in the events of this book (and no, I don’t go looking for things to bring me down). “The Dogs of Babel” is about depression and pain, but there is a mystery, and talking dogs. TALKING DOGS. So- win!

  131. Any book by Tamora Pierce. My personal favorites are the protector of the small series. Also, Anna Kendricks memoir is damn funny.

  132. I can’t just pick one favorite book! WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU?? 😉 But I can pick my favorite in specific categories. So, favorite random find: Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. Favorite Terry Pratchett book: Reaper Man. Favorite classic: Pride & Prejudice. Favorite Douglas Adams: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

  133. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. (Close second is The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.)

  135. The Princess Bride (which would utterly shock me if you haven’t read already because I’m sure you have because it’s so your kind of book and also there was a movie which was great although not really as great as the book, which is REALLY great…) as well as Ender’s Game (ignore that the author is a turd) and more recently Rook by Daniel O’Malley.

  136. For me I always go back to The Green Darkness by Anya Seton (she was more popular in the 70’s, not so much now sadly)
    To Bite the Sun by Tanith Lee (Or the Silver Metal Lover, or the Unicorn series)
    And for a more recent novel that I seem to read frequently would be To Name the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

  137. Harry Potter; Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches series and both Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat, Violin and her more modern werewolf series are all great; The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audry Niffenegger (NOT the movie – the book); The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe; Neil Gaiman anything, but especially Good Omens with Pratchett; Terry Pratchett’s DiscWorld books featuring the witches or Death or Susan.

  139. Oh, and From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankwiler, and pretty much all of Terry Pratchett, though if I have to pick one I guess I’ll go with Guards, Guards! And it’s not an all-time favorite, but I just finished reading “The Egg and I” by Betty MacDonald (she wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books), about living on a chicken farm in rural Washington (the state) in the 20’s, and it’s mostly really good and funny. (One unfortunate caveat: true to its era, there is one chapter that’s super racist about Native Americans, which I feel like I need to warn people about whenever I recommend the book.)

  140. Anything by James Thurber. I have an old paperback copy of some of his stuff and I would always read it when I was feeling anxious and aloud to my daughter when she was sick, as the stories of his family would always take our minds off of our maladies and make us laugh. I TREASURE that book.

  141. I know it’s cliche, but I’ve read To Kill a Mockingbird at least 10 times.
    -Lord of the Rings
    -The Road
    -Dubliners

  146. Just finished Paula Poundstone’s “The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search For Human Happiness” It’s great for few laughs and feeling better about yourself.

  150. My go-to rereads for years and years:
    Little, Big by John Crowley
    Barsetshire novels by Anthony Trollope
    Earthsea novels by Ursula K. Le Guin
    Recent reread (4 times) that will join the list:
    Ancillary novels by Ann Leckie

  152. The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley
    Martha Wells’ Raksura books
    Anything by Barbara Hambly

  153. Also the previews for the movie The Glass Castle reminded me how awesome that book, and all of the authors others were

  154. Heart of Gold by Sharon Shinn. I think I’ve read it four times in the past ten years. Its a great sci-fy that takes a critical look at race, culture, and their integration in society.
    Also, when in doubt, I can always fall back on my collection of Jane Austen novels. As another posted stated, I can completely disappear into these books.

  155. “And Ladies of the Club” by Helen Hooven Santmyer is written in the old style by a former English teacher at the end of her life. In fact, she was destitute and living in a nursing home when the book was read by someone in Hollywood. It was immediately re-published and became a best seller. If you love the written word, a good story, well drawn characters that you will come to love and think about long after the book has been put on the shelf, this is the book to read.

  157. I need to know what inspires you to best suggest a book!
    My most re-read ever – The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
    Memoir – Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick (bonus, the audio is FANTASTIC)
    Non-fiction – Come as You are by Emily Nagoski
    Just Fun – The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

  158. You should read Bellweather Rhapsody, by Kate Racculia. She’s completely in love with David Tennant as well, and she wrote a character for him in this book. And the book is great <3

  159. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. (I’ve worn out several copies) Or The Sword of Shannara series.

  162. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Unbroken and To Kill A Mocking Bird. Humor: Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love. You will discover the meaning of an empty ice cream cone and the power it wields. Victor will not approve.

  163. As a phenomenally written character study alone, I’ve re-read Stephen King’s “IT” at least a half-dozen times. As an absolutely fantastic story, I’ve re-read it another half-dozen times easily.

    “Firestarter” is also one of the best Science Fiction books I’ve ever read.

    Beyond these … if you want recommendations on a great SERIES of books, I cannot recommend the Belgariad/Mallorean series by David & Leigh Eddings highly enough. The characters are SO vibrant and the interplay between them SO funny that I found myself laughing out loud at times.

  165. The Stand by Stephen King. I have it in hard cover, paperback, and on my Kindle. I will never not love this book.

  167. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and the Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  168. We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride. And The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

  170. The Stupidest Angel – A Heartwarming Tale Of Christmas Terror By Christopher Moore. I pull that book out every year during the holidays. It is hysterically funny and a fond family tradition.

  171. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I’m guessing you’ve probably read it, but it’s one book I’ve read multiple times. 🙂

  172. Friday – RA Heinlein

    She reminds me that sometimes the strongest of us are also the most broken. And that it’s OK.

  173. The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff and Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh are ones I try to read every year.

  174. Mouse by Richard Ford Burley – I’ve read it 6+ times this year (possibly because I’m his copy-editor… but the recommendation still stands!)

  175. More Bradbury: A Medicine for Melancholy. Here’s the Table of Contents: In a season of calm weather — The dragon — A medicine for melancholy — The end of the beginning — The wonderful ice cream suit — Fever dream — The marriage mender — The town where no one got off — A scent of sarsaparilla — Icarus Montgolfier Wright — The headpiece — Dark they were, and golden-eyed — The smile — The first night of lent — The time of going away — All summer in a day — The gift — The great collision of Monday last — The little mice — The shore line at sunset — The strawberry window — The day it rained forever.

  176. Three of my favorite read-every-year-titles already mentioned- Good Omens by Pratchett & Gaiman, Wrinkle in Time, by L’Engle, and Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. I also LOVE Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Neverwhere-authors preferred text by Gaiman. OMG!!

  178. Salinger’s short stories. Particularly “For Esme with Love and Squalor” and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”
    Esme and Seymour are two of the most beautiful literary characters

  179. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Just don’t read it on the plane. You’ll be laughing so hard they’ll land early and escort you off the plane.

  181. Zone One by Colson Whitehead.

    Haunting, lyrical and with a reveal about 25 pages from the end that brought me up short and made me reevaluate so much about myself & my place in society. Plus, zombies.

  183. My go to for repeat reading is an oldie, but goodie–Wifey by Judy Blume. I just read the first chapter only to get a sense of Blume’s writing style (again). It was challenging to put down.

  184. The last few years it’s been Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George. I find it extremely empowering! Re-read at least once a year.

  185. The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. (I know, it’s a series not a single book…but still) I have lost count how many times I’ve read these books over the years.

  186. A Discovery of Witches (it’s a trilogy!) by Deborah Harkness. I’ve read all three books probably 50 times and they never get old!

  189. The Night Circus. By Erin Morgenstern
    I have read this book so many times!! I love it so much. Currently rereading it now!!

  190. Anything by Mary Roach, but especially stiff and gulp. They’re science books, but fun!

  192. My favorites are Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Also I tend to reread the Harry Potter series once a year. For some reason I also love Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children and the two others in that series. They’re YA but highly entertaining.

  196. Non-fiction: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
    Fiction: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

  200. Arabella of Mars by David Levine
    A victorian steampunk bit of fluff. Best devoured in one sitting and he’s just released a sequel if you live it as I do.

  201. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I read portions of it over and over again.

  202. Any of Sarah J. Maas’ books. And I’ve read the Little House series, The Little Princess and The Secret Garden a ridiculous number of times over my life span to date. [My 8 year old and I are reading the Little House series right now, for her first time, and it’s amazing to share Laura with her!]

  203. If you like fantasy, The Books of Great Alta by Jane Yolen. Also enjoyed The Red Tent and wish I could forget it so I could read it again for the first time.

  205. Mary Stewart’s suspense novels. The Moonspinners, My Brother Michael, Nine Coaches Waiting, etc.

  207. Hated King’s Gunslinger but fell into the Dark Tower series, chafed at my librarian when the next book was not available, didn’t like the end, but for days afterward I felt like I should have been doing something else, somewhere else. Same feeling when I finished Harry Potter (hated the first one, loved the series). Laura Lippmann anything, Edna Buchanan, anything. I love this annual post because I get so many new recommendations!

  208. Well I was going to say anything by Terry Pratchett, but he seems pretty well represented in the comments already. He’s wonderful. If you’re looking for a book about strong women, you can’t do much better than Wyrd Sisters. If you enjoy YA books, The Wee Free Men is fantastic.

  209. I love how most completely ignore the “one favorite” request. And I’m ignoring it too. Books I read over and over and over are ones that I find comforting. So:

    Any/all of the Angela Thirkell books about Barsetshire.
    Any/all books by Betty MacDonald
    Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

  210. There’s no way I could narrow it down to just one…

    Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
    Sean & David’s Long Drive by Sean Condon
    Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments, The Snapper, & The Van) by Roddy Doyle
    Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro
    ‘Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
    The Authoritative Calvin & Hobbes

  215. Holidays in Hell by P. J. O’Rourke. This is nonfiction and a little dated, but absolutely hilarious. Actually most of P.J.’s work if pretty funny. Chistopher Moore’s Lamb has already been mentioned, but I also liked Island of the Sequined Love Nun and Practical Demonkeeping. Christopher Buckley’s No Way to Treat A First Lady and Boomsday are also repeat reads. And if you happen to be into older Regency romances, Friday’s Child by Georgette Heyer is hilarious.

  216. For straight up soul comforting, I go with The Princess Bride. Also, anything by Christopher Moore, especially Lamb and Fool.

  217. Compulsive reader, here. Cannot pick one, but all by John Irving, Barbara Kingsolver and Sue Monk Kidd. And all of yours!

  218. Can’t name just one – there are many books I reread every couple of year, including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (the most brilliant collaboration ever), Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.

  219. It’s gonna sound like sucking up, but currently my favorite book is Furiously Happy. It came to me when i needed it most – like giving an ice cold drink of water to someone struggling in the desert sun. Or a mojito to a sunbather by a Palm Springs pool. Same diff, really.
    Thank you for writing this book.
    And i can NOT wait for the next one!

  220. Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It is brilliance within darkness.
    Also anything by Kierkegaard. It’s so dense and specific it forces you to forget about everything else if you want to understand what you’re reading. When the ADD is bad, it can take me an hour to read a page or two, because I have to keep re-reading what I wasn’t paying attention to. He is a great author for grounding you.

  221. The Shell Seakers by Rosamunde Pilcher
    The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

  223. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Such an incredible way to look at life and a way to truly live it.

  225. • The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
    • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
    • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (4 book series)

  227. I admit I have only ever repeat read one book in my life – and that was CATCHER IN THE RYE. But my absolute favorite books are (in no particular order): The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon; A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving; Wicked – the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory MaGuire; and if you’ve never read TIME AND AGAIN by Jack Finney you need to do yourself a favor – also – it’s a super fast read.

  228. Dreams and Shadows by C Robert Cargill. The sequel, Queen of the Dark Things, is also awesome.

  230. This might endanger my life, but I have to admit that Johanna Lindsey romance novels are my kryptonite. My favorites are the first ones I read. Secret Fire is probably my top favorite. It’s got a few problematic elements here and there, but Katherine is EVERYTHING. Her fierce strength was always inspiring to me. Also, she’s the first heroine I ever read about that wasn’t considered some kind of golden supermodel yet the guy totally fell over himself for her. Great storytelling. All her characters, especially the women are really great.

    Also, Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean M Auel. I LOVE the Earth’s children series, of which that is the first. Ayla is another fiercely strong woman and Ms. Auel brings the prehistoric world alive in amazing ways. Later books carry more lengthy descriptions of the prehistoric world that kind of interrupt the flow of the storytelling, which is where she really shines, but the first time you read it, you really learn some fascinating things.

  231. If you’re looking for brilliant writing, two that I marvel over every time I reread them (and I can’t believe how long it’s been since I reread) are Mama Day by Gloria Naylor and History of Love by Nicole Krause. Both just so fucking brilliant and heartbreaking and uplifting and jealousy-inducing because, I mean, how awesome would it be to write like THAT? And the stories are so good. I’m resisting going and grabbing them off my shelf right now. I’m SUPPOSED to be cleaning. And I’m finishing a book and I just picked up a hold at the library. But… Mama Day and her niece Cocoa and the old man and the kid who thinks he’s the Messiah in Love… just… why resist?

  232. Stone Angel, Margaret Laurence. Required reading when I was in school. I discovered it about the same time I realized that just because it was on a school reading list didn’t mean it wasn’t amazing.

  233. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. You haven’t read it yet? Inconceivable!!!

  236. The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery. If you loved Anne of Green Gables, this is the same author but one of her lesser known books, it’s kind of a romance and kind of a book for anyone who ever felt odd and misunderstood and left out and loves books and a secret romantic. It’s about finding oneself and becoming strong…it’s wonderful!!!!.

  239. I have two series for you, because if there’s anything better than a book with good characters, it’s multiple books with good characters! The first is the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (a wife and husband writing duo) – first book is Magic Bites. The second series is The Others by Anne Bishop – first book is Written in Red.

  241. Have you read any of Frederic Brown’s short stories? The Anthology “From These Ashes” is a great place to start. Amazing sci-fi/fantasy shorts with clever little twists.

  242. Too many to name, but a few are – anything by Michael Connelly, if you like mysteries; for funny, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and Apocalypticon by Clayton Smith; anything by Mary Roach for funny science writing; of many thought-provoking science fiction stories, Wild Seed by Octavia Butler; for interesting in-depth history, anything by Barbara Tuchman.

  243. “All Over but the Shouting” by Rick Bragg or “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman

  244. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I think of something g fro. This book everyday.

  245. Oh man, so many options… Ursula K. Leguin’s Gifts and Voices are two of my favorite books ever, and are sci-fi, since you like that genre. Her writing is beautiful. I’m also totally in love with Robin McKinley’s books, especially The Hero and the Crown, and Chalice. Chalice especially leaves me wanting to live in a hut somewhere with my true love and a bunch of bees. That’s more straight fantasy, though. I also think you’d like Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, the main characters are so quippy – it’s an adorable rom-com type thing but with quite a bit of substance.

  246. The French Lieutenant’s Woman (for the footnotes alone!) read once a year
    Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth…read again and again

  247. John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany is one I reread every couple of years. I will never not love it.

  248. Every book Lianne Moriarty has written. Memoirs of a Geisha. The best a man can get.

  249. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (open a fresh box of tissues before opening the book)
    This One and Magic Life by Anne Carroll George

  251. IT or The Stand by Stephen King. Also, I just finished your books but want to read them over. And no I’m not trying to suck up. It’s the truth.

  254. Mostly YA
    Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Blackhearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
    Also, Arabel’s Raven by Joan Aiken
    Half Magic by Edward Eager
    Danny Champion of the World by Road Dahl
    Anything by Diana Wynne Jones

    I’m also really enjoying MFK Fisher if you want to read about food
    And – Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson

  255. The series of books by Lillian Beckwith written about her time as an Englishwoman spent in the Hebrides Islands. The first is The Hills is Lonely. Wonderful, entertaining characters, those Scots!

  256. The entire Harry Potter series of course but also Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

  258. I find myself constantly going back and reading The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien or The Lord of the Rings books by him as well

  259. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, by Tom Robbins. All of his novels are magic, but Fierce Invalids is the BEST!

  260. IT or The Stand by Stephen King. And I’ve just finished reading your books and they will be put in this category too.

  261. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It’s a retelling of the legend of King Arthur from the women’s perspective. Angela’s Ashes is a close second.
    J

  265. My re-read like crazy books change over time, as I change. Ones that have been on that list, in no particular order:

    Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
    The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
    Child of Fortune by Norman Spinrad
    Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
    The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
    The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
    Transformations of Myth Through Time by Joseph Campbell
    The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav
    Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams
    Weaveworld by Clive Barker
    The Lastborn of Elvinwood by Linda Haldeman
    Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
    The Autobiography of Henry VIII: with Notes by His Fool, Will Somers: A Noverl by Margaret George

    Yeah, my tastes run all over the place. lol

  266. I know it’s old… and also for junior high aged kids… but I have LOVED The Westing Game (by Ellen Raskin) since I was in 6th grade and re-read it every few years. (I also buy a copy pretty much any time I see one in a used book sale… just so I have copies to hand out to friends – or the kids of my friends – if they’ve never read it.)

  267. John Chancellor Makes Me Cry by Anne River Siddons. It’s a collection of short autobiographical stories of her life. I’ve read it over and over till my book is worn thin.

  269. Love, love, love any books by Maeve Binchy and Anne Rivers Siddons! I get lost in their books.

  270. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle. It was my favorite growing up and still it. I met her once and she was an amazing person!!

  271. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s nonfiction but his writing sucks you in like a great novel. Blink and Outliers are great as well.

  272. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I read this 6 times when I was in France taking an intensive French course. It was one of two books I had with me and I discovered something new each time. It still holds up to re-reading and I’m now attempting a French translation

  273. The Sweet Potatoe Queen’s Book of Love
    This book changed my life. Read parts over and over and have all the following ones as well.

  275. My “go-to because the world is ending” book is, Furiously Happy. Listening to the audiobook helps bring me back to terra firma.

  277. Harry Potter series
    Night Circus
    Let’s pretend this never happened.
    Also thanks for all the ideas- I think I’ve found some great books to check out!

  278. OMG. Where do I start? I adored the Beekeeper’s Apprentice (and the whole Mary Russell series by Lauren R. King) and the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander (And Only To Deceive not only had me cheering because it was the best book I’d read in years but also weeping because I’d never write anything that good…) And my go-to comfort reads are the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters, and I re-read Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers at LEAST once a year, and have you read the Mary Stewart heroine-in-jeopardy books? I used to read The Moonspinners every summer and now I’m going to have to re-read it again!

    The Honor Harrington series by David Webber. The Heris Serrano books (along with the Deed of Pakesenarion) by Elizabeth Moon. Echo Robin McKinley, and L.M. Montgomery–if you haven’t read The Blue Castle YOU MUST! Because how can you resist a story about a downtrodden young woman who decides to say exactly what she’s thinking? 🙂

    I’m trying to avoid the tried and true classics I’m sure others will name (like Pride and Prejudice, because seriously, as scary as the world is these days, I love a story where the worst thing that can happen to you is getting cut dead at a party or your sister running off to Gretna Green…)What a great post for National Book Lover’s Day!

  280. Love anything by Maeve Binchy or Anne Rivers Siddons! I get lost in their stories!

  281. “Red Adam’s Lady” by Grace Ingram. It’s out of print, but I would gladly loan you one of my copies.

  282. Run With the Horsemen, Whisper of the River and When All the World Was Young, a trilogy by Ferrell Sams. My husband and I have read them aloud to each other several times. Please give them a try. I know you will love them. Also, Downtown by the same author. I constantly try to get friends to read them, but apparently they’re not “trendy” enough (the books and probably my friends, too!). It seems that all my friends want to read are murder mysteries and they are o.k., but not my favorite.

  283. Oooo… I second A Prayer for Owen Meany. Persuasion is my favorite Austen. Anne of Green Gables is my go to for disconnecting from our current world. For something that makes me think, I love everything by Joshilyn Jackson (she has a new book out and I can’t wait!) And now that there is a movie coming out, I will be re-reading A Wrinkle in Time soon.

  284. If I only have a few minutes, the poem Renascence by Edna St Vincent Millay never ceases to fill me with hope. If I have an hour, The Little Prince fills me with love. If time isn’t an issue and I want to get lost in a good book, The Mists of Avalon takes me to a place long ago and far away and fills me with magic.

  285. I love the zookeeper’s wife. The movie just recently came out and it is one of the best book to movie adaptations I have seen.

  286. Technically not one book but six, the seven waters series by Juliet Marillier. Starting with Daughter of the Forest, it’a a retelling of an Irish fairy tale.

  288. Deerskin by Robin McKinley. And any of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett (especially Witches Abroad, Feet of Clay, or Snuff).

  289. Okay favorite book is too much. I guess Gone With the Wind, but that’s a brick. Some others I’d definitely recommend though:

    The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
    Bound South by Susan Rebecca White
    The Things They Carried
    Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
    Secret Daughter by Gowda, Shilpi Somaya
    You by Caroline Kepnes
    Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

  291. Watership Down – my favorite book of all time. Some heavy themes in here, but I think you’d enjoy learning to “speak rabbit!”

  292. Just reading through all the comments is inspiring, so many of my favorites are mentioned. One that wasn’t mentioned was ‘The Mists of Avalon’ by Marion Zimmer Bradley–a retelling of Arthurian legends from the women’s perspective.

  293. ‘The Violet Hour’ by Katie Roiphe. Great Writers At The End. A fascinating study of great writers (Sontag, Freud, Updike, Sendak, etc.) as they approached death. Just the right fusion of deep and macabre.

  295. Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed and Louise Penny’s Inspecror Gamache series (read them in order)

  296. Can’t pick just one:

    My go-to is “Good Omens”, recently re-read favorite is “The Thirteenth Tale” and all time favorite is “A Girl of the Limberlost”

  297. Many great options listed! In case you need a break from reading, though, try the movie “Widow’s Peak”. I always wish I could see it again for the first time!

  298. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. You will never forget these characters. You will forget first world problems. Hands down my favorite book that I’ve read in the past 10 years.

  299. A Wrinkle in Time (and all 5 of that series.) I have read them all many times.
    Also – The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Again I have read it many times.
    (This old man is a child at heart.)

  300. A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. Especially if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to grow up in small-town Indiana.

  302. Every few years I re-read old Ellen Raskin books from my youth, like The Westing Game and the Tattooed Potato. They’re still great, even as an adult. If you want something more thrilling, I’m a huge fan of the Daniel Silva Gabriel Allon series – globetrotting Israeli spy.

  303. All the books by Terry Pratchett. They’re funny and smart and absolutely beautiful. I have The Shepherds Crown on my desk, and I’m putting off reading it because it’s his last. After I read it, there will be no more. And I’m not ready to have that behind me.

  305. 101 Dalmatians, the Little House series, and Little Women if I need a good cry.

  307. Cheating because it’s 9 books or 3 volumes and one he’ll of a wild ride- The Lizard Queen Series by HL Cherryholmes.

  308. Favorite author as I read you later: Jennifer Crusie’s, mix of banter, lust, sex! & murders. Harlan Coben’s, Michael Connelly, Steve Hamilton, James W. Hall, Jane’s

  309. The Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. You get to learn a bit about gods you may not have known about and Oberon the Irish wolfhound will make you laugh. Also Luke Daniels reads the Audible book and is excellent if you want an audio version.

  310. I am the Cheese, Robert Cormier. Or Carrie Fisher’s The Princess Diarist, if you’re into her.

  311. Outlander (all), Phryne Fisher Mysteries (all), Anne of GG and Emily of New Moon, Little Women (and the rest), Neverwhere, Good Omens, Narnia

  313. Night Circus is one I recommend… and ones I read when I need to feel that wonder that you feel the first time you read a great epic fantasy and think.. I love all these characters is The Belgariad series by David Eddings and Dragonriders of Pern. Read them as a teen, and still love to go back to them.

  314. Anything in the Dirty Job series by Christopher Moore, Bridge to Terebithia (when I need a good cry), The World According to Mimi Smartypants. I could go on and on but I want to see what others recommend. 🙂

  315. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and Watership Down.

  316. The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban. It seems like a children’s book, but it’s not… just amazing.

  317. The Orphan Train
    Gurnsey Literary and potato Peel Pie Society
    And Friday Night Knitting Club

  318. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I would so love to be reading it again for the first time because it is like falling in love. But I re-read them yearly, I ❤️ this series so. Also The Stand by Mr. King, I will never not love it. And for pure unadulterated fun The Dark Lover series by JR Ward. Hunky crazy sexy vampires, strong women , just terrific .

  323. Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. Have been re reading these for the past 40 years.

  324. Ooo, The Bean Trees, The Poisonwood Bible, The Secret Life of Bees, Brain on Fire. Now I want to go home and read.

  325. Same Kind of Different As Me. My father bought dozens of this book and handed them out as he lovingly told each person that they MUST read this book. He died on Christmas Day after making sure that every one of us promised to read the book.

    Also, Broken Dishes by Lisa Johnson Hilliard. You can find it on Amazon. Life story told with abandon. I love brave women.

  327. Confederacy of Dunces.
    1984. (strangely relevant today)
    Stranger in a Strange Land.

  328. “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened” – my most favorite book ever. Oh, wait… you probably read that one. 🙂

    Seriously, though, Laini Taylor’s trilogy that starts with “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” is awesome. I ripped through all three of those and lost a lot of sleep bargaining with the clock. (Sign of a really good book, IMO.) Her newest one “Strange the Dreamer” is also awesome. Stories of interaction between gods and humans… what’s not to love?

  329. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry – Fredrik Backman Love this book. Whimsical, irreverent, and funny. Also read well on Audible if you like audio books.

  330. Azumanga Daioh (graphic novels) by Kiyohiko Azuma
    the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
    anything by Ilona Andrews
    either of Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changling or Guild Hunter series

  331. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Loved this book and now they’re making it into a movie!

  333. Anne of Green Gables is definitely my go-to book. My favorite book written for adults is Anna Karenina. People are scared of it, but there is nothing to be scared of. I’ve read it three times and am due for a 4th.

  335. You should just publish a book of all your blogs (complete with pics of course)! I miss them occasionally due to work, and it would be nice to pick it up and read something hilariously soul nourishing when I need a pick me up. Love & Light to All….

  336. I usually prefer fiction, but these two nonfiction books I read more and more slowly as I got near the end, not wanting to be done with them yet:
    1. “Letters From the Editor: The New Yorker’s Harold Ross” by Thomas Kunkel.
    2. “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson.

  337. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, of course. And like many others here, Watership Down, Mists of Avalon, and Harry Potter. And for non-fiction (ish), Chocolate, The Consuming Passion, by Sandra Boynton. I wore out my original copy of that, and had to get another.
    And for art – Amphigorey. Sometimes Edward Gorey is just the thing I need.

  339. I can read Stephen King’s “The Stand” over and over again. It’s unfortunate that the nuclear portion of that story is timely, but the classic good versus evil gets me where I live.

  340. For most frequently read and bound to make me feel better about the world, it’s a tie between Vonnegut’s Timequake and, of course, Good Omens (especially the drunk conversation scene about dolphins).

  343. Boys Life by Robert R. McCammon is a perennial fave. If you’re looking for something with a Bradbury feel to it, try Joyland by Stephen King.

  345. I agree with another woman about “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. And more recently, “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”

  347. If you read all the book ideas given by now, that would be a life well spent. Here’s two more for you:

    “Life After God”, by Douglas Coupland
    “Sirens of Titan”, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

  348. My depression sometimes robs me of my favourite joys. Reading is one of them. So I listen to audio books. I just listened to Furiously Happy for the second time. It makes me feel so much less alone.

  350. The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Cat Valente.

  351. “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck. I’ve probably read it a hundred times. However, I don’t think it will help with your new book. But it’s wonderful.

  352. This will probably make me sound like a dork but it’s the first book that really got me into reading as a kid, Mary Stanton’s “heavenly horse from the outermost west” Best book ever, fucking ever! What makes it even more special is my mum got me a signed copy for my 37th birthday!

  355. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl…I don’t know, it just speaks to me. It’s sort of YA, lots of mystery. Her follow-up, Night Film, was also excellent.
    Otherwise, definitely Harry Potter. Always, always Harry Potter.

  356. Pictures of Perfection – Reginald Hill – it’s a murder mystery but not.

  358. My all-time favorite book is “…And Ladies of the Club” by Helen Hoover Santmyer. It takes a little bit to get into (she really takes the time to set the scene), but once you do, it’s amazing. It’s the saga of two best friends as they graduate high school just after the Civil War, and tells their life stories along with those of an entire Ohio town all the way up to the Great Depression. The thing that ties all the characters together is a ladies’ book club (the Waynesboro Woman’s Club) Every time I finish this book, I want to go back and re-read it, to visit again all of the characters in their younger days. I have literally read two copies of the book to pieces, and my current copy is held together by clear packing tape. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

  360. Ooh! On”Dear Sugar” by Cheryl Strayed and “the Gifts of Imperfection ” by Brené Broen, or anything else by her, really.

  361. I want to read The Glass Castle. Also thinking about rereading The Liars’ Club. It’s amazing!

  362. “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon In fact, the whole series ROCKS……men in kilts…..

  363. The night circus by Erin morgenstern for some fun fantasy and romance. And diary by chuck palahnuik for a fucked up story. Love both to death

  365. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. Also American Gods. And One Hundred Years of Solitude. I’m not good at following directions.

  366. I see that Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett has already been mentioned. My all time favorite (he book, definitely NOT the TV series). Just wanted to give it another vote. Also Quincunx by Charles Palliser. And anything by Jane Austen, especially Emma (if I want something light with a happy ending) and Persuasion (if I want something a bit morose). Finally, The Road to Gandolfo and the follow up The Road to Omaha by Robert Ludlum. Who would suspect that a writer known for vicious, treacherous spy novels could have such a side-splitting sense of humor?

  367. Grey is the color of hope by Ratushinskaya. It’s a memoir of her time in the Gulags and should be a total downer but the way the women in the “small zone” take care of each other and refuse to lose their humanity always brings me out of my funk. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint, anything that takes place in his fictional city of Newford, really.

  368. It takes a bit of perseverance at the very beginning, but Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children is absolutely magical. Same with A.S. Byatt’s Possession. Neither is a beach read, but for me they evoke awe at what a gifted writer can do. Also, any of Louise Penny’s books. She has a new one coming out Aug. 29 and a book tour that includes Austin, but best to start with the first book and read forward so you come to know and love her characters and see them develop.

  370. It’s not a happy book – not by a long shot – but I keep going back to The Long Walk by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King. It’s heartbreaking, but the storytelling is so so good.

  371. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis (comic science fiction). So wish I could read it for the first time again!

  375. The book that I return to again and again is Furiously Happy (which, of course, you wouldn’t read). I do love You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. It empowers me and makes me feel confident and strong – even when I don’t.

  376. My go to books are: to get out of my own head Good Omen, for a bit of romance and hope Pride and Prejudice and just because, and the one I’ve read the most Demian by Herman Hesse. Love that one. Actually, if you excuse me…

  377. Forests of the Heart by Charles DeLint
    Gorgeous book about a crossing over of the spiritual world with ours. Specifically the Native American, Mexican, and Irish Celtic cultures meeting in one big city when one tries to upset the balance of powers.

  378. Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’ and ‘Neverwhere,’ and Barbara Kingsolver’s ‘The Bean Trees’ and its’ sequel, ‘Pigs in Heaven.’ All four make me happier and I reread them every summer.

  380. Pingback: Every Day is National Book Lover’s Day: Share Your Favorites! |

  382. My favorite is The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I named my first daughter Taylor after the main character.

  384. Anne of Green Gables always.Currently re-reading A Wrinkle in Time b/c I can’t wait for the film (was just looking at the cast-Oprah, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Zach Galifianakis, Gugu Mbatha-raw and directed by Ava DuVernay)

  385. After about 50 years, recently reread ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and was stunned at how beautifully it was written. Also Peter S. Beagle’s ‘A Fine and Private Place’. George Saunders’ book of short stories, ‘Pastoralia’ is bizarre and wonderful. And I’ve read ‘The Night Circus’ three times so far. And aren’t we lucky that we love to read?

  387. There are three eternal re-reads in my world:

    Rumer Godden’s IN THIS HOUSE OF BREDE
    Michael Malone’s HANDLING SIN
    Ernest Cline’s READY PLAYER ONE

  388. Bradbury – Dandelion Wine; Morgenstern – The Night Circus; Setterfield – The 13th Tale
    I would envy you reading any for the first time!

  390. I go back to Furiously Hsppy all thhe time. I also love Anne Lamont’s Bird by Bird when I need writing inspiration. My first ebook was published two weeks ago. It’s a novelette about a pencil sharpener. If interested, let me know and I’ll share the info. Happy reading day!!!!

  391. Expecting Adam by Martha Beck-memoir
    First Comes Love by Marion Winik- memoir
    We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson-novel
    The handmaids tale by Margaret Atwood-novel
    Swamplandia! By Karen Russell- novel
    Carry on Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton-memoir
    Maplecroft and Chapelwood (the Borden Dispatches) by Cherie Priest-novels

  393. Wuthering Heights. Even named my daughter Catherine.
    And Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.

  394. Divine secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

    by Rebecca Wells
    Also Little Altars Everywhere
    & Ya-Yas in Bloom
    All bY the same author)

  395. I have 3 favorites. The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S Tepper, Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clark and The Left Hand of Darkness of Ursula LeGuin. I’m about due for a rereading of all 3.

  398. I have a couple. So American Gods, which you’ve already red obvs. Then The Shafow of the Wind. Those are the only two I have ever turned back to page one and read over immediately after the first reading. The Goblin Emperor made me sigh in delight and I did read it again a couple of days later. And Sunshine by Robin McKinley, I think is one of the most relatable vampire books out there. Also a comfort read, to stave off the ravening squirrel zombie horde in my head.

  399. People have recommended some of my most favorite and least favorite books. But the series I reread every so often and count as my all time favorite is The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. All of the books in the series up to and including The Man in the Iron Mask.

  400. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
    Little Altars Everywhere
    Ya-Yas in Bloom
    All by Rebecca Wells
    Wonderful & horrible & wonderful

  401. I got goosebumps reading about the books people love. I buy adult fiction for my library district, and it’s my favorite job I’ve ever had. I feel like I’m buying chocolate for people–milk, dark, creams, nuts and chews, and those odd ones where you can’t figure out what’s inside but you still like it.
    For creative inspiration, I love a book called the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were.

    Books I’ve re-read are:
    –The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love
    –Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels
    –The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
    –A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
    –Five Quarters of the Orange and Chocolat by Joanne Harris
    –The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

    Latest favorite book: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

  402. Bridge of Birds – it’s one of the books I keep extra copies of in case someone hasn’t read it before.

  403. Oh, and anything by A.S. Byatt. Posession is great, but she also has a series of 4 books about the same family: The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman. I just reread Babel Tower.

  404. I read “The Count of Monte Cristo” when I was in the seventh grade and I absolutely love that book. I have re-read it countless times over the years (50 of them, in fact) and even though I know every bit of it I still love the book. I have it as an Audible book now so I can listen to it even when the brain weasels make it impossible to read.

  406. The dragon riders of pern series Anne mccaffrey the lord peter wimsey mystery series by Dorothy Sayers. And to the tribe: no wonder I feel at home when I’m here! All those authors that I love to read including E. Nesbit. Hooray!!

  408. “Anna Dressed in Blood” by Kendare Blake, and the sequel “Girl of Nightmares.” They are both YA horror, but are so delightfully macabre that some of the murder scenes make me laugh out loud from the dark humor of them. Also ANYTHING by Holly Black.

  409. The Time Traveler’s Wife, Little Women, Gone With the Wind. And not one that I’ve re-read but just finished for the first time and loved: The Soul of An Octopus

  412. Favorite book. I think that’s the hardest question in the world. One favorite is Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. I was never a fan of westerns but this blew me away and the length is a pro rather than con because I wanted to live in this book forever.
    A series I love is Chaos Walking trilogy starting with The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Incredible world building and characters and a dog who thinks out loud.
    A newer favorite is The Bees by Laline Paull. Thrilling. Living life as a bee and of course the ecological standpoint and I couldn’t put it down.

  413. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I first read it when I was in junior high, and it will always be one of my favorites.

  415. So hard to pick, but 2 of my faves (already mentioned) are The Art of Racing in the Rain and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

  416. The All Souls Trilogy (starts with A Discovery of Witches) by Deborah Harkness. Such an amazing series, and I especially love the audiobook version, because the reader moves seamlessly through at least a dozen or so distinct voices and accents.

  417. Other than Harry Potter, my favorite books that I am jealous of people reading for the first time are Night Circus and Ready Player One.

  418. Connie Willis: Bellwether. Technically science fiction in that it’s fiction about science but a charming read and not nearly as light as it seems.

  419. The Book of Flying by Keith Miller – it’s a quest tale that is enriched by others’ stories, and so beautifully done. Also, The Dark Tower series (if we’re counting series) – it’s my bible.

  420. Frankenstein and To Kill a Mockingbird. Then follow the Mockingbird book with the movie version with Gregory Peck. He is spectacular in that role. Almost wish I could have another son and name him Atticus. Sigh…

  421. Oh, and The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell! There are just too many to name 😆

  422. Outlander series, but they’re a big commitment. Also any A Song of Ice and Fire books, once again a commitment. I loved The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and it will probably be one I reread through the years. Growing up I don’t know how many times I reread Little Women. I need to get it out again and relive it.

  423. I read the phantom tollbooth. It’s a young adult book but there are so many good quotes in that book. I love it.

  424. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – well written BUT it also reminds me to be thankful for every penny I have.

  425. Good Omens – I have a first edition that is close to falling apart because I read it so often. I finally broke down and got it in an e-book so I can take care of my hard copy

  426. Nina Kiriki Hoffman – The Thread That Binds the Bones. I think I read it four times in a row after I first bought it and it’s brilliant.

  427. My favourite book is probably “The Tiger’s Woman” by Celeste de Blasis who died much too young. It’s a historical novel set in San Francisco, Seattle and the San Juan Islands. It’s almost 700 pages but I’ve read it over 10 times. I also reread the entire series is Pern books energy couple of years and the Anne Of Green Gables series, often starting with Anne’s House of Dreams. I also read Tamora Pierce’s YA novels(all of them!) Every couple of years.

  428. Name of The Wind and Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss ( I know that’s technically 2 books… but they are a matched set and cannot be separated.)

  429. Since childhood it was A Secret Garden, but I think the shine has finally worn off and now it’s the Lord Peter short stories by Dorothy Sayers. And the Mrs. Pollifax stories by Dorothy Gilman.

  431. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
    A Soldier’s Duty by Jean Johnson
    Feed by Mira Grant

  432. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. I embarrassed myself on a plane laughing inappropriately the first time I read it. Seat mates on a plane don’t appreciate the person next to them snorting apparently.

  433. Well, it’s technically a children’s book – but the book I’ve read the most times and loved every single time is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. It’s one of the most emotional books I’ve ever read – in the best way.

  436. Forgot a couple:
    “Magnificent Obsession”
    “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”

  438. The books I read over and over are:
    Jane Eyre
    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
    The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer both by Barbara Kingsolver

  439. History of Love by Nicole Krauss. It’s so beautiful. It has my favorite line of any book, “Her kiss was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”

  440. The Devil,s Advocate by Taylor Caldwell
    Behind Closed Doors. B. A . Paris
    Lisa Geneva books
    The nightingale and magic hour. Kristin Hannah
    The Alice network
    Emma bombeck books

  441. With you and everybody else on Bradbury, of course. But since I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, pretty much any of James Baldwin (particularly his fiction) always makes me happy that he exists and intensely aware of my own limits, writing-wise. Sonny’s Blues, Giovanni’s Room, or (if you can find it) The Manchild has the most incredible opening pages I know of.

  442. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I read it so many times growing up that it fell apart – my mother had to buy me another copy. Even though I lived in southern WV – I was able to identify (in good ways) with the young book loving Francie growing up in the early 1900’s Brooklyn.

  443. I know I’ve recommended this before, but I have read it soooo many times I had to scotch tape/glue the first copy I ever bought at a church bazaar multiple times until I caved and bought a new copy that also ended scotch tape and glued back together. “The Eagle And The Raven” by Pauline Gedge. I also have read and re-read these by Sheri S. Tepper: “The Gate to Women’s Country”, “Grass”, “Raising the Stones”, “Sideshow”, & “Beauty”.

  445. I love it when you do this! A lot of my favorites have already been mentioned, but here are a few more:

    Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban
    Our Lady of the Lost and Found by Diane Schoemperlen
    If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie

  446. Anything Jack Ryan by Tom Clancy or Laurell K.Hamilton. I know they are two very different genres, but they give me something new every time I read them. I have read and re-read all of them. I am also possibly adding the Outlander series to my list, but I have only read the series three times. It takes four or five to get on favorites list…

  447. My favorite is actually a tie: “The Good Earth Trilogy” by Pearl S. Buck (yes, it’s a trilogy, most people don’t know that, “The Good Earth” continues in “Sons” and concludes in “A House Divided”) and the absolutely brilliant “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Baroness Emma Orczy. Both are books I read over and over, but I’ll never get the surprise from reading the Pimpernel’s twist again. However, there IS a whole series of “Pimpernel” books if you like them.

  449. (Also Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart, the Alienist by Caleb Carr, My Antonia by Willa Cather, and The Bone People by Keri Hulme. I HATE narrowing down!)

  451. A fool free by Beate Grimsrud, one of those books where you don´t know whether to laugh or cry.

  452. The Hobbit
    The Lord of the Rings
    The Heart of Darkness byUrsula Le Guin (collection of short stories)

  453. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

    I know its not a novel book, but its a comic book so I say it counts. Sometimes when Im really depressed. Or anxious. Or just overwhelmed I cannot handle a whole novel (even though I love novels and read them all the time) Sometimes they are just too daunting. But a small book, with pictures, is just perfect. So. Nimona is my pick.

  454. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I still have the same dog-eared copy I bought from my elementary school’s book fair when I was six year’s old (more than 40 years ago!), with my name written inside the front cover in bad kindergartner handwriting. It was the first book I bought with my own money. I read that same copy to each of my three boys when they were small, I read it at least once a year now, and I still cry every time.

  457. Can’t do just one, but will do three as good things come in 3’s -right?
    The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
    Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen (or anything in her writings–so good!)
    Clay’s Quilt by Silas House

  458. Stoner, by John Williams. (NOT about drugs. The main character’s last name is Stoner.) A classic — not to be missed.

  460. Anything by Tamora Pierce. My favorite specifically is the Beka Cooper trilogy (Terrier, Bloodhound, Mastiff) but I have read every single book she’s written multiple times. They’re that good.

    I read Terrier again every few months it seems like.

  462. Love Ray Bradbury! His Martian Chronicles are still some of my favorite short stories.

    If you’re interested in SF/F, I think the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia is my favorite series- I love introducing people to it.

    For a mystery with a bit of Romance, I recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

    And if you’re looking for something to cheer you up, try the Mercury series by Robert Kroese, and/ or Fool by Christopher Moore. Love them both!

  464. AN INHERITANCE OF ASHES by Leah Bobet and THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS by Karen Lord. Also THE BLUE CASTLE (L.M. Montgomery), WIVES AND DAUGHTERS (Elizabeth Gaskell), and anything by Jane Austen.

  466. The Fever Series by Karen Marie Morning. I have two quote tattoos. One is “Furiously Happy” and the other is from the Fever Series “Hope strengthens,fear kills”.

    Also anything Jame Austen, Emily if New Moon, And To Kill a Mockingbird.

  467. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth. Long, sweating and fascinating. Basically feels like you are in India living the story.

  468. Gone With the Wind. So many complex and interesting characters; the racism is eye opening; the way people just accept the status quo without examining the inhumanity that surrounds them; the love story, with its twisted hero and heroine, who behave in the inexplicable way real people do. The movie can’t compare to the book.

  469. If you haven’t already read it, I think you might enjoy Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner. She had a very unconventional childhood, too.

  472. “The Book of the Dun Cow”. I thought a LOT about this, tossing aside first this book, then that one. Then I remembered brave, howling Mundo Cani and arrogant, crowing Chanticleer, and… well, I don’t think any book has ever made me laugh and cry quite so reliably. (I haven’t had the heart to read the sequels, which were written much later and have mixed reviews)

  474. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I have read it maybe 3 times. Love it.

  475. I read Adam and Eve and Pinch Me while I was in high school….a loooong time ago. It has stuck with me since then. I loved it.

  476. So very many wonderful books. BTW, the Bradbury collection is great, but there is real value reading The Martian Chronicles or the Illustrated Man. There’s the magic Bradbury does around the theme – that gives me a thrill every time I read them.

    The “book” I’ve read the most is the Lord of the Rings, but I’m sure you’ve read that, and probably L’Engle (fiction and nonfiction) too, which are my most brilliant and go-to books. Kim Stanley Robinson, however, is probably the most-underrated amazing writer there is. His book, the Years of Rice and Salt, is a book that continues to intrigue me, even when I’m not reading it. Although he’s one of the best SF writers, this is more like Bradbury – Speculative Fiction, and wonderful. Well worth your time.
    Booklovers Unite! – separately, in our own nooks, with a cat and something refreshing to drink.

  477. I went and read over the recommendations and my heart is full because I’ve read and enjoyed so many of them. I found myself saying “Oh YEAH! I loved that one!” over and over. But somebody who did not seem to get mentioned is Tom Holt, a funnier, British version of Christopher Moore. Really read him; you’ll bust a gut. Any of his are wonderful, but I personally think well of “Here Comes The Sun”, “Faust Among Equals” and “Ye Gods!” What he does is take common myths/stories and turn them on their head. Like, what if the whole of nature is run by a bureaucracy and has a severely strapped budget? If Faust escapes, where does he go and how do you catch him? When Hercules was growing up, how do you deal with an incredibly strong toddler who has an all-powerful father?

    Also in the “bust a gut” category is Dave Barry, rightly called “America’s Funniest Man”. He’s retired now, and tends to write books about family life, my favorite of which is “You Can’t Date Boys Until You’re Forty”, but I’ve reread his collections of his columns over and over, probably my favorite being a tie between “Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up” and “Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits” He’s hilarious; really, read him.

  479. My favorite books of all time (besides yours, of course), are Outlander Series, Diana Gabaldon and The Stand, Stephen King

  481. I’m a political junkie.
    Michael Hayden’s “Playing to the Edge.”
    Christmas Fanatic.
    Rhys Bowen’s “Twelve Clues of Christmas.”

  482. My favourite is A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L’Engle. Always manages to comfort me.

  483. Twelve Little Cakes by Dominika Dery and The Satanic Mill (also known as Krabat) by Otfried Preußler (Preussler.)

  486. There aren’t too many books that I haven’t read multiple times. If I e only read them once then it was because they were a) awful or b) the book sucked me in too deeply to go back to.
    Favorite read of 2016 was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, though. I’d recommend it.

  487. For me, the “A Wrinkle in Time” series. It’s been my go-to for 30 + years. 🙂

  488. There are several, depending on my mood. Today it’s The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler.

  490. Beginner’s Luck by Laura Pedersen: not a book or author most people have ever heard of but it feels like putting on that favorite pair of old jeans every time I read it! There are too many good books for me to read anything more than once, but I keep coming back to this one every couple years.

  491. Modoc by Ralph Helfer. A lovely romance adventure novel about “the greatest elephant thatever lived”. Hands down my favorite book ever.

  492. You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
    Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
    A Million Little Pieces by James Frey – I don’t care what Oprah says!
    The Shack by William P Young

  493. Paula by Isabel Allende
    Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
    Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle
    The Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett

  494. Animal Husbandry by Laura Zigman. I find it utterly (see what i did there? lol) hilarious. I adore this book. Its irreverent and brilliant, and the movie Someone Like You is based on it, but doesn’t hold a candle to it.

  496. I’ve read the entire series of The Dresden Files by Jim Burcher at least 3 times. I’m torn between impatience at having the rest of the series published, and dreading the inevitable feelings of grief once there aren’t more forthcoming.

  497. Definitly, that would be “Furiously Happy” And i get to relive it when I see your blog posts

  499. As a child I read Reader’s Digest Condensed Books over and over. I see many of those books and authors mentioned here but one I haven’t seen is THE GIFT OF THE DEER by
    Helen Hoover. She wrote several books about living off the grid (before that was a thing) among animals and with nature in general during the 40’s thru 60’s. Now own them all as ebooks and recommend them to all animal lovers.

  500. I could read “Comet in Moominland” by Tove Jansson a million times over – and probably have since I was seven years old.

  501. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Both transport you to another world; the characters are so well developed, and the sense of place is very strong in each, making you feel, smell, and almost taste the world within. Cutting for Stone explores religion and family in a deep way, questioning the strong ties of both. I buy copies at second hand shops so I can give them away.

  503. I like to re-read my Dave Duncans, my favourites being the A Man Of His Word series, and the King’s Blades series. Either read only one or all three of the latter, if you read only 2, they won’t make sense.
    I also love re-reading Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes, and most of Jennifer Crusie’s stuff, especially Bet Me and Faking It.

  504. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson
    And I’m a consummate Neil Gaiman fan too so we have similar tastes. This one is right in there with Neil’s work.

  506. The Time Traveler’s Wife is my all time favorite, and I have read it a million times. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced! Her Fearful Symmetry is also amazing, as are all of her graphic novels. Her visual art is as brilliant as her writing!

  507. And I suppose you’re looking more for funny recommendations, in which case: Nick Hornby, especially About a Boy.

  508. The entire Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (comedy/fantasy I guess?) and the entire Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold (space opera/speculative fiction?). Count of Monte Cristo. Yeah.

  512. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. It’s wise, funny, is about a woman learning to be brave and independent, and there are cinnamon buns. And monsters.

  513. Friday by Heinlein is the first book to come to mind. As many have stated, though, it is difficult to choose just one. I’m currently rereading my way through the In Death series by JD Robb (Nora Roberts).

  516. Favorite book ever, of all time: American Gods. But, I’m also a huge fan of series urban fantasy (Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne), and a fun one-off (or two-off, I suppose) is/are Hold Me Closer, Necromancer and Necromancing the Stone, both by Lish McBride.

  520. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. Best underrated book. Milagro Beanfield War, Lonesome Dove.

  522. Anything by Pat Conroy … his writing is lyrical … Prince of Tides, Lords of Discipline

    Also Justin Cronin’s amazing Passage trilogy … starting with The Passage

  524. I’m SO glad someone recommended The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I read that and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides over and over.

  526. A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Poisonwood Bible are my longtime favorites!

  527. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Blue Nowhere, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Furiously Happy, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

  528. My absolute favorite book of all time is House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. It’s so complex! I find something new every time I read it.